Introduction

Achalasia is a primary motor disorder of the oesophagus characterised by absence of peristalsis and insufficient lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation. With new advances and developments in achalasia management, there is an increasing demand for comprehensive evidence-based guidelines to assist clinicians in achalasia patient care.

Methods
These guidelines were established in accordance with the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. A systematic review of the literature was performed and the certainty in the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. Recommendations were voted upon using a nominal group technique.

Results
These guidelines specifically focus on the definition of achalasia, treatment aims, diagnostic tests, medical, endoscopic and surgical therapy, management of treatment failure, follow-up and oesophageal cancer risk.

Conclusion
These multidisciplinary UEG and ESNM guidelines provide a comprehensive evidence-based framework with recommendations on the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of adult achalasia patients.

Keywords: Dysphagia; oesophagus; manometry; myotomy; motility; esophagus

Introduction

Measurement of breath hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) excretion after ingestion of test-carbohydrates is used for different diagnostic purposes. There is a lack of standardization among centers performing these tests and this, together with recent technical developments and evidence from clinical studies, highlight the need for a European guideline.

Methods

This consensus-based clinical practice guideline defines the clinical indications, performance, and interpretation of H2-CH4-breath tests in adult and pediatric patients. A balance between scientific evidence and clinical experience was achieved by a Delphi consensus that involved 44 experts from 18 European countries. Eighty eight statements and recommendations were drafted based on a review of the literature. Consensus (>=80% agreement) was reached for 82. Quality of evidence was evaluated using validated criteria.

Results

The guideline incorporates new insights into the role of symptom assessment to diagnose carbohydrate (e.g., lactose) intolerances and recommends that breath tests for carbohydrate malabsorption require additional validated concurrent symptom evaluation to establish carbohydrate intolerance. Regarding the use of breath tests for the evaluation of oro-cecal transit time and suspected small bowel bacterial overgrowth, this guideline highlights confounding factors associated with the interpretation of H2-CH4-breath tests in these indications and recommends approaches to mitigate these issues.

Conclusion

This clinical practice guideline should facilitate pan-European harmonization of diagnostic approaches to symptoms and disorders, which are very common in specialist and primary care gastroenterology practice, both in adult and pediatric patients. In addition, it identifies areas of future research needs to clarify diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: fructose, intolerance, lactose, malabsorption, oro-cecal transit time, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

This guideline presents recommendations for the management of coeliac disease (CD) and other gluten-related disorders both in adults and children.
There has been a substantial increase in the prevalence of CD over the last 50 years and many patients remain undiagnosed. Diagnostic testing, including serology and biopsy should be performed on a glutencontaining diet.
The diagnosis of CD is based on a combination of clinical, serological and histopathological data. In a group of children the diagnosis may be made without biopsy if strict criteria are available.
The treatment for CD is primarily a gluten-free diet (GFD), which requires significant patient education, motivation, and follow-up. Slow-responsiveness occurs frequently, particularly in those diagnosed in  adulthood.
Persistent or recurring symptoms necessitate a review of the original diagnosis, exclude alternative diagnoses, confirm dietary adherence (dietary review and serology) and follow-up biopsy. In addition, evaluation to exclude complications of CD, such as refractory CD or lymphoma, should be performed. The guideline also deals with other gluten-related disorders, such as dermatitis herpetiformis, which is a cutaneous manifestation of CD characterized by granular IgA deposits in the dermal papillae. The skin lesions clear with gluten withdrawal. Also, less well-defined conditions such as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and gluten-sensitive neurological manifestation, such as ataxia and have been addressed.
Newer therapeutic modalities for CD are being studied in clinical trials, but are not yet approved for use in practice.

Keywords: Coeliac disease; seronegative coeliac disease; dermatitis herpetiformis; non-coeliac gluten sensitivity; gluten ataxia; neurocoeliac; coeliac neuropathy; slow-responder coeliac; refractory coeliac disease; enteropathy associated T-cell lymphoma